26-year-old Shubham Dobliyal fell barely six minutes after take-off from Billing; police probing possible harness failure and other causes as fourth paragliding incident hits Kangra in a month
Kangra, November 11: A tragic paragliding accident at Himachal Pradesh’s internationally renowned Bir-Billing adventure tourism destination has once again brought passenger safety and regulatory oversight under scrutiny. A 26-year-old tourist from Greater Noida, identified as Shubham Dobliyal, died after falling from a tandem paraglider barely six minutes after it took off from Billing on Tuesday evening.
Dobliyal was holidaying in Himachal Pradesh with his sister and three cousins. He was undertaking the flight with a local tandem pilot, identified as Vinay Kumar, when the incident occurred. While the pilot managed to land safely, the tourist reportedly fell into a densely forested area near the designated landing zone.
The incident came to light after the pilot landed and informed other paragliders about the passenger’s fall. A search and rescue operation was launched, with teams facing difficult terrain and fading light. Dobliyal’s body was eventually recovered from the forest later that evening. Police completed the necessary formalities, including the post-mortem examination, before handing over the body to the family.
FIR against pilot, cause of accident under investigation
The Kangra Police have registered an FIR against pilot Vinay Kumar at Bir police station on charges relating to causing death due to negligence. However, the precise circumstances that led to the tourist falling from the paraglider have not yet been established.
Kangra Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma said investigators were examining all possible explanations, including the possibility of the passenger’s safety harness becoming loose or snapping during the flight. The possibility of other factors, including the pilot’s manoeuvres, is also being examined.
Deputy Commissioner Kangra Hemraj Bairwa said the administration was looking into every aspect of the incident. He underlined that passengers on tandem flights depend entirely on the pilot and the safety arrangements made by the operator. The investigation will therefore be important in determining whether prescribed safety procedures were followed.
According to the victim’s cousin Manish, other members of the family had also undertaken paragliding flights. They learnt about the tragedy only after landing, when they were informed that Shubham had fallen during his flight.
Fourth paragliding-related incident in Kangra within a month
The latest fatality has intensified concerns because it is the fourth paragliding-related incident reported in Kangra district over the past month.
On October 25, a 47-year-old Bulgarian paraglider lost his life in an accident near Rising Star Peak in the Khanyara-Yol area of Dharamshala, while his 63-year-old British companion was rescued. Two other incidents, reported on October 21 and October 24, involved tourists who had taken off from Bir and became stranded in the hills before being rescued.
The sequence of incidents has raised questions about the effectiveness of safety monitoring at one of India’s most prominent adventure tourism destinations. Bir-Billing attracts domestic and international visitors throughout the flying season, with tandem paragliding offering tourists an opportunity to experience the sport under the supervision of trained pilots.
Safety checks and accountability need renewed attention
The latest tragedy has renewed demands for comprehensive safety audits of commercial paragliding operations, strict inspection of harnesses and other flight equipment, mandatory pre-flight passenger checks and more effective supervision of operators and pilots.
Tandem paragliding involves a particular responsibility because passengers generally have limited knowledge of flying equipment and depend on operators to ensure that harnesses are correctly fitted, equipment is maintained and all safety procedures are followed before take-off.
The investigation into Shubham Dobliyal’s death will be crucial in establishing whether the incident resulted from equipment failure, a lapse in safety procedures, human error or another cause. Until the findings are available, no specific explanation can be treated as established.
For Bir-Billing, the challenge is now not only to preserve its reputation as a world-class paragliding destination but also to ensure that adventure tourism is backed by rigorous safety standards, transparent accountability and effective enforcement. Tourist confidence ultimately depends on the assurance that every flight is conducted with passenger safety as the foremost priority.
